As exciting as a one-sided fight gets, that’s what was served up on the Esports World Cup card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.

Filip Hrgovic dominated in impressive style against David Adeleye, to win by unanimous decision but it wasn’t without its drama.

The judges scored it 98-91 and 99-90 twice.

Hrgovic, (19-1, 14 KOs), has been an enigma. The Croatian boasts an excellent amateur pedigree and made his way through the professional ranks early on in decent fashion, touted as a future heavyweight champion along the way.

In 2022, Hrgovic lost his father, Pero. It was an event he described as life-changing.

Since then, he’s picked up a controversial win over Zhelei Zhang after being knocked down in the first round, followed by a lacklustre victory over Dempsey McKean.

A farcical knockout win against Mark De Mori came next, before he was stopped on cuts by Daniel Dubois in an absolute war.

He bounced back with a hard-fought win against the faded Joe Joyce in April this year.

Saying he’s flattered to deceive during his career is an understatement. At times, it seemed Hrgovic was battling himself in the ring as much as his opponents.

With the heavyweight division at a bit of a standstill, and Usyk holding all the belts, next up for Hrgovic was British-level David Adeleye. A fight that came out of nowhere, but was intriguing nonetheless.

It turned out to be enthralling, including an 8th round that must be in contention for round of the year.

Adeleye (14-2, 13 KOs) trained by Adam Booth, came out twitching, feinting and whipping out his fast jab in the first round, but Hrgovic quickly found his rhythm, pressing forward and throwing high-volume, thudding shots.

A well-timed jab from Adeleye opened up a deep gash on Hrgovic’s right eyelid in the second round, which was well contained by his new trainer Abel Sanchez as the fight wore on.

From the third round onwards, the fight followed a similar pattern: front-foot pressure from Hrgovic, landing regularly, but every now and then Adeleye would connect with a heavy left hook that shook him. Although Hrgovic was always in control and winning rounds, Adeleye’s power kept you on the edge of your seat.

None more so than in the eighth. Adeleye roared in defiance after being caught clean, before being knocked down for the first time in the fight. He stayed on one knee to compose himself, then rose and got back into the fray.

In a real Rocky moment, Adeleye unleashed a huge left hook that shook Hrgovic to his boots. Sensing the kill, Adeleye let fly with a barrage of shots. Hrgovic was like a human punch bag for 20 seconds. He stood in the middle of the ring, feet stuck in treacle, hands down, getting peppered, but refused to go down. What a chin.

It was Adeleye’s big chance to pull himself out of the fire, but he couldn’t finish the job. His gas tank was already empty, and he trundled to the final bell on red, getting stunned again right at the end of the last round.

Better conditioning and a little more belief, and it could have been a different outcome for Adeleye. But he’ll have learned a hell of a lot from the experience. At 28 years old, there’s still plenty of time for him to find success.

Hrgovic threw over 500 punches and was relentless from start to finish. He’s one-paced and there to be hit, but this wasn’t the usual Hrgovic we’ve seen in recent years. The one who almost looked bored at times.

His link-up with Abel Sanchez seems to have served him well. His fragile skin above the eyes will always be a worry, but he’s turned into a fan-friendly fighter and will no doubt be back on another big card sooner rather than later.

Images: Getty